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About James Moyer
Expertise
Anything in percussion or drums.
Macintosh computers or music software
Experience
30 years of professional playing and 25 years of teaching at all levels in percussion and drums. I taught middle school, high school and college students since 1978.
I used to work for Apple. I know the computer line and operating system at expert level and teach music technology at my college.
Organizations
American Federation of Musicians
Percussive Arts Society
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Pi Kappa Lambda
Phi Kapp Phi
Publications
Percussive Noites
School Band amd Orchestra
Author of Four Mallet Method for Marimba - Studio 4 Productions
3 guitar transcriptions for marimba available at Steve Weiss Music
Education/Credentials
Bach. Music Ed. - Susquehanna University
Master of Music - University of Oklahoma
Doctor of Musical Arts - University of Oklahoma
Associate Professor of Music - Millikin University 1986-98 and Lafayette College 2004-present.
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You are here: Experts > Music/Performing Arts > Musical Instruments > Drums & Percussion > Tuning 5 marching bass drums
Expert: James Moyer
Date: 5/6/2008
Subject: Tuning 5 marching bass drums
Question
My high school bought brand new Yamaha Marching Drumline equipment last year. Sadly, the senior who knows how to tune the drums left. This job has fallen to me. I have read up on the subject and know which technique to use, but i don't know the pitches. I've searched for that as well, but the drum sizes are 16", 18", 20", 22", and 24"-that seems to be rare. (And if you could give me actual pitches and not just "minor third" or "major fifth", that would be great.)
Answer
Hi Kate,
I get this question at least monthly from band directors and drummers online. Here is my stock answer. Every percussion instructor and DCI Caption head has their own formula for tuning a drumline, not just basses but the entire voices of the section.
The sizes you give are small, a result of the powerful influence of drum corps on the manufacturers. 18 or 20 is typically the lead drum. Now, that being said, I personally do not subscribe to "pitches" for the simple reason that bands play in a variety of keys so setting a set of chord tones on purpose doesn't make much sense to me.
I tune the 5 basses to a major 9 chord - say C, E, G, B, D just for reference. The quads or quints then pick up from the top bass drum. Snares these days are cranked beyond what I consider reasonable and have no pitch whatsoever, just painfully HIGH.
I taught in DCI in the 80's when drum tuning made more sense. Today it's come down to high and higher. Drum companies keep making shells to handle more pressure, head companies make bullet proof heads to take more tension, it seems to have no end.
So - that is my formula and I expect that every major drum instructor to talk to has a different opinion. minor 3rds or major 3rds seem the best choices for bass drums so the pitches are far enough apart to hear on the field. Outside of that, the only drums I tune to actual pitches (outside of timpani) are the toms on my DW drum set as their shells are tuned to vibrate best at a specific note.
Hope this helps - don't get too tide up in the tuning formulas. Get the drums in a range where they project and sound good and match both heads. Outside of that, nobody will notice, trust me.
jamie
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